News report on eliminating illegal online gambling at the border areas released
Nay Pyi Taw January 20
Recently, illegal criminal activities including online gambling were occurring in Myawady-Shwe Kokko and KK Park areas in Kayin State.
A gambling project was set up in the Shwe Kokko area in 2016 under the pretext of esta-blishing businesses for regional economic development. Later it stopped due to media reports and news about the existence of illegal businesses. Because of the various armed groups active in the areas and the difficulties and limits for rule enforce-ment teams and administrative bodies to fully control and govern the areas, they were unstable and in the adjoining areas self-seekers, taking the situation as an advantage, were committing crimes including online gambling.
These areas were receiving electricity and internet connection, the basic requirement for online gambling, not from Myanmar, but from the other country, and most of the infra-structures and investments were provided by foreign orga-nizations. Online scammers started their online frauds and gambling in Philippines and Cambodia in about 2015 and entered Myanmar after 2019.
News about the transfer of a Chinese citizen, Mr. Wang Xing (film actor), who went missing at Thai-Myanmar (Maesot- Myawady), border back to Thailand by related organizations through inter connections. According to verifications, a Chinese citizen connected Mr. Wang Xing through WeChat of a Thai based art company, GMM Grammy, and organized him to work as an actor in Thailand. Hence, Mr. Wang Xing arrived in Suvarnabhumi International Airport from Shanghai, China, on 3 January by air. Later, he arrived at a place on the bank of Thaungyin River (on Thai side) near Maekonkan Village, Maesot, Tak Province from Bangkok. He was then taken to Myawady-Shwe Kokko area (Myanmar side) by boat.
He was sent to a building and was trained to be skilled in computer typing. There were about ten Chinese citizens in the building. He was sent to a second building where his head was shaven and ordered to do online scamming. It was an online scamming place and there were about 50 Chinese citizens. Later, he contacted his family. Organizations from the areas he was involved in tran-sferred him to Thailand, which he entered illegally, through No 34 gate, Vansakhiranthaink village, ward 7, Thasaunglot Township, Maesot, Tak Province on 7 January. He was then transferred back to China at the Bangkok center to protect victims of human trafficking (Donmaung Center) on 10 January evening.
Moreover, three persons including a Chinese citizen, Mr. Cheng Xiao Ning, were found near a bridge on Friendship Road in Ward 5. According to them, they illegally entered Myanmar from Thailand through various connections in 2022-2023. They were involved in an online scamming business and later they ran away from the place as they were not paid.
Similarly, two illegal Chinese immigrants, Mr. Yin Jie and Mr. Huang Xiang, were found near Natshinnaung traffic lights, Bayintnaung road, Ward 4, Myawady. According to them, they illegally entered Myanmar through Maesot, Thailand in 2023.
Basically, the online scamm-ing business needs electricity, internet connection, arms and ammunition and buildings, and the scammers got them through other countries. The scammers were not from Myanmar and they were foreigners who sneak-ed into it via some neighbouring countries. The eradication of online scamming and gambling calls for collective and positive involvement of neighbours.
The government of Myanmar is prioritizing the prevalence of State peace and stability and the rule of law. But taking the current situation in some border areas as an opportunity, some foreigners with the in-volvement of self-seekers from related sectors including EAOs are extending online gambling. So, the government is paying serious attention to exposing the illegal business and tran-sferring the victims to their countries.
Investigations were conducted to expose foreigners who illegally entered Myanmar and it was found that most of them illegally entered Myanmar territory to work for their personal interests by using neigh-bouring countries including Thailand as transits. However, although they were illegal migrants, the government has conducted investigations in accordance with the law and handed them over to their respective countries out of con-siderations for humanitarian causes and friendship between countries. When foreigners who were committing online frauds and online gambling by illegally entering the country were uncovered and the illegal migrants who were exposed in border areas such as Laukkai, Muse, Tachilek and Myawady and other border areas were handed over to their relevant countries. From 5 October, 2023 to 13 January, 2025, a total of 55,711 foreigners were handed over to their respective countries including 53,388 foreigners to China, 648 foreig-ners to Thailand, 20 foreigners to Korea, 22 foreigners to Laos, 1,149 foreigners to Vietnam, 19 foreigners to Philippines, 142 foreigners to Malaysia, 21 foreigners to China(Taipei), two foreigners to Singapore, one foreigner to Poland, one foreig-ner to Spain, 13 foreigners to Russia, 38 foreigners to Indone-sia, three foreigners to Uganda, two foreigners to Egypt, three foreigners to Cambodia, 96 foreigners to India, 13 foreig-ners to Morocco, 29 foreigners to Ethiopia, 26 foreigners to Nepal, three foreigners to Pakistan, two foreigners to Nor-thern Ireland, one foreigner to Kazakhstan, two foreigners to Kenya, 60 foreigners to Sri Lanka, one foreigner to South Africa, one foreigner to China - Hong Kong, two foreigners to Sierra Leone, one foreigner to Ghana, one foreigner to Burundi and one foreigner to Turkmeni-stan while further investigations are still underway.
The government has formed committees to take measures effectively to investigate foreig-ners who were arrested for illegally entering Myanmar in accordance with the law, to take legal action and file charges against them and to expel them to relevant countries as soon as possible while actively cooperating with respective countries to hand over foreig-ners who are in trouble due to various reasons and foreign victims of human trafficking to relevant countries as soon as possible.
From 2022 to 19 January, 2025,the government received re-quests to help find 4,176 foreign citizens (3,415 males and 761 females) from 38 countries from Asia including members of the ASEAN, Europe, China and South Africa through diplomatic and INTERPOL and police communication channels. Up to 19 January, 2025, a total of 1,292 foreign citizens including 958 males and 334 females were exposed and 1,284 of them were expelled and handed over to relevant countries in accordance with rules and regulations while other eight foreign citizens including five Vietnamese, one Pakistani and two Chinese are still left to be handed over. Investigations are being conducted consistently for the remaining 2,884 foreign citizens and information is shared in real time to relevant embassies and countries when something unusual takes place. Under the Myanmar-China cooperation, online scam cen-ters were cracked down twice in Muse in Shan State (North). The first crackdown was carried out between 28 and 31 March, 2024 while the second one was conducted between 23 and 26 September, 2024.
Those who are involved in online scams and gambling are not ordinary people and they are fugitives who committed cri-mes in their relevant countries and lead gambling operations. According to press releases of the Information Team of the SAC, it was learnt that "Chinese people do not cheat Myanmar people and the latter do not cheat the former. As a group of fugitives who committed crimes and ran away from their countries are scamming the both countries, they and those who provide protection to them will be exposed and action will be taken against them."
Therefore, as those who commit online scams and gambling target areas, where law en-forcement and administrative authorities face difficulties and limits to fully control due to regional instability, in coo-peration with self-interests seekers from armed groups and related areas including some ethnic NCA signatories,the government has been ex-posing and taking action against them resolutely in cooperation with international organizations. Regional organizations and citizens are urged to cooperate in combating online scams and gambling as a national duty by reporting information about online scams to relevant autho-rities when such information is received.